Think California is ready for legal marijuana? Think again. State regulators have worked hard since voters passed Proposition 64, legalizing cannabis for adult recreational use. But as we edge closer to Jan. 1, signs of the coming chaos are everywhere..

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Dan Morain: A measure hurtling toward the November 2018 ballot would repeal the 12-cent per gallon gasoline tax increase approved this past legislative session to pay for road repairs, bridge maintenance and some public transit. Granted, no one wants to pay more for gasoline. But potholes don’t fill themselves. That’s not stopping House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Bakersfield, and most of California’s Republican congressional delegation from backing that repeal – with a notable exception, Rep. Jeff Denham, R-Turlock.

Paula Treat: One night in 1983, my boss told me to go to dinner with the Assembly Rules Committee chairman, Lou Papan, a Democrat from Millbrae. Papan had a reputation for being a bully and womanizer. But I had a job to do. Over dinner at the Firehouse, he talked mostly about his family, and walked me to my car at what I thought would be the end of the evening. Then, he forced himself on me. I fought him off.

Hilary Abramson: A community gardener faces “probation.” What will come of the cauliflower and broccoli? She tended the garden for respite while caring for her husband, who is in hospice. Alas, rules are getting in the way.

Take a number: 2,095,000

California’s minimum wage rises by another 50 cents on Jan. 1 to $11 an hour, and a new analysis says that nearly 2.1 million workers in the state will directly benefit, reaping a total of nearly $2.7 billion in additional income a year.

The Economic Policy Institute points out that while 4.5 million workers in 18 states will get a higher minimum wage in 2018, many more are being left behind because the federal minimum wage has been stuck at $7.25 an hour since 2009. With a Republican Congress in power, that seems highly unlikely to change.

Mailbag

“Rep. Tom McClintock’s silence in not speaking out against these outrageous lies that his colleagues keep making on Fox News speaks volumes about who he is and whose interests he represents.“ – Mike Holzer, Roseville.